Cast Bullet Lube Options

[Moe T Vator]

Howdy All,

 

I recently started casting my own rounds due to having accessibility to range scrap lead. 

I use Lee 6 cavity molds that throw 105 and 125 grain SWC and RNFP respectively. 

Initialy I was lubing the rounds with liquid alox. 

 

I’m reaching out to see what the other options and advantages are.

I’ve seen powder coating, moly coating, wax etc. 

 

 

I’m using clays smokeless powder for the reloads and federal small pistol primers.

shooting Ruger NV and Winchester Miroku. All 357/38 spl

 

Thanks

Moe T Vader

104114

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

I like moly coating.

Not sure how a 'home caster' would apply it.

OLH

[Trainwreck Paddy]

I powder coat. Very easy and clean. I got tired of having to clean the lube out of the seating and crimping dies. Doesn't seem to mater much if I resize the bullets or not.

[J-BAR #18287]

I cast all my own bullets too.  Tumble lubing with Alox works fine as long as you don't use too much, which most shooters tend to do.  I dilute Lee Liquid Alox with mineral spirits until it is watery, then apply it so there is just a faint color change on the bullet surface.  Blow them dry with a hairdryer and then dust them lightly with powdered cornstarch so they don't feel sticky.  I can be loading Alox lubed bullets within 10 minutes after tumble lubing them.  No problems with Alox accumulating in my dies, and no problems with such a small amount of Alox in my guns either.

 

For my blackpowder rounds I dip my home cast bullets into beeswax/Crisco 50-50.  I do not use a lubrisizer.  This lube mix softens in hot weather so while it would provide adequate lubrication for smokeless rounds, the smaller amount of smokeless powder under bullet lubed with this mix could be affected by softened, melted lube inside the case.  It has never been an issue with a case full of blackpowder.

[Moe T Vator]

1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

I like moly coating.

Not sure how a 'home caster' would apply it.

OLH

 

Thanks for the reply. What type of moly do you use? Do you have a technique for applying it? 

[Moe T Vator]

1 hour ago, Trainwreck Paddy said:

I powder coat. Very easy and clean. I got tired of having to clean the lube out of the seating and crimping dies. Doesn't seem to mater much if I resize the bullets or not.

Cool cool. 

What powder do you use? Where did you get it? What’s your technique??

 

[Moe T Vator]

35 minutes ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

I cast all my own bullets too.  Tumble lubing with Alox works fine as long as you don't use too much, which most shooters tend to do.  I dilute Lee Liquid Alox with mineral spirits until it is watery, then apply it so there is just a faint color change on the bullet surface.  Blow them dry with a hairdryer and then dust them lightly with powdered cornstarch so they don't feel sticky.  I can be loading Alox lubed bullets within 10 minutes after tumble lubing them.  No problems with Alox accumulating in my dies, and no problems with such a small amount of Alox in my guns either.

 

For my blackpowder rounds I dip my home cast bullets into beeswax/Crisco 50-50.  I do not use a lubrisizer.  This lube mix softens in hot weather so while it would provide adequate lubrication for smokeless rounds, the smaller amount of smokeless powder under bullet lubed with this mix could be affected by softened, melted lube inside the case.  It has never been an issue with a case full of blackpowder.

Thanks! 

I cut my alox with  acetone  until it has about the consistency and color of beef broth. Drop the bullets in,  tumble for a few seconds and then drain everything. Put it in from the fan until they dry. Never heard of using the corn starch but that seems like a good plan. 

 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

33 minutes ago, Moe T Vator said:

 

Thanks for the reply. What type of moly do you use? Do you have a technique for applying it? 

I buy my lead SASS bullets moly coated from Bearcreek Supply.

https://www.bearcreeksupplybullets.com/

 

OLG

[Trainwreck Paddy]

I got my powder from Harbor Freight, very cheap and goes a long ways, I am on my first pound of powder and at least 10k bullet later. Red works well and looks like lipstick when loaded! yellow comes out blotchy. I made 2 wire racks, 1/4" hardware cloth / wire mesh shaped into a square basket, one is slightly larger than the other so you can stack them. Put bullets and powder in a plastic jar, square is better for tumbling then roll and shake it for 45 seconds or so to completely cover them. Pour into the baskets so the bottom is completely covered, they will be touching each other. Shake the basket lightly to get them lined up and to knock off the excess powder. I sprinkle a little powder on the ones that are not covered with powder, probably not necessary. Then into the toaster oven @ 275 - 300 degrees for 15 minutes or until the powder is glossy. Take them out of the oven and dump them into a bucket of cold water Immediately! Some of them will stick to the wire mesh after old powder starts to build up. Tap the bottom with a wooded stick so they drop in the water. When they hit the water they will separate. I get maybe 3-4 that will stick together out of a 1000 coated bullets, a little twist and they pop apart. Caution - do not use your wife's oven or any oven you care about, there will be permanent powder stuck to the inside. Load em up!

[Red Cent]

http://www.redriverbullets.com/

 

One of our top shooters makes the reduns. They work super in my 73s  and no leading. yazzur.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

I lube cast pistol and rifle bullets just like I did in the 1970s.   Star lube-sizer for pistol because it is real fast.  Lyman lubrisizer with heater for rifle bullets, as I almost always gas check them, and use a stiffer lube to allow higher velocities, thus it needs heating to apply the lube.

 

There's thousands of recipes for either commercial lube or home-made lube.   For commercial, I use a lot of White Label lubes (www.lsstuff.com/lube).  The carnuba red, and Xlox 2500 are some of my favorites.  I save the commercial lubes for high-accuracy rifle requirements at 1500 FPS or more muzzle velocity.

 

For pistol caliber bullets in revolvers, semiautos and lever rifles, I make my own home made lube.   If you look on the Cast Boolits web site (castboolits.gunloads.com), you will find a forum full of make-it-yourself recipes.  Mine is pretty close to the standard Lithibee recipe.  I get absolutely NO leading in any of my pistols, and great accuracy, up to about 1100 FPS.   Plenty of range for cowboy or WB shooting.

 

Cast Boolits site also has a wealth of info on casting, alloys, accuracy, and is a great source for lead and other metals and equipment, too.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

 

[Moe T Vator]

3 hours ago, Trainwreck Paddy said:

I got my powder from Harbor Freight, very cheap and goes a long ways, I am on my first pound of powder and at least 10k bullet later. Red works well and looks like lipstick when loaded! yellow comes out blotchy. I made 2 wire racks, 1/4" hardware cloth / wire mesh shaped into a square basket, one is slightly larger than the other so you can stack them. Put bullets and powder in a plastic jar, square is better for tumbling then roll and shake it for 45 seconds or so to completely cover them. Pour into the baskets so the bottom is completely covered, they will be touching each other. Shake the basket lightly to get them lined up and to knock off the excess powder. I sprinkle a little powder on the ones that are not covered with powder, probably not necessary. Then into the toaster oven @ 275 - 300 degrees for 15 minutes or until the powder is glossy. Take them out of the oven and dump them into a bucket of cold water Immediately! Some of them will stick to the wire mesh after old powder starts to build up. Tap the bottom with a wooded stick so they drop in the water. When they hit the water they will separate. I get maybe 3-4 that will stick together out of a 1000 coated bullets, a little twist and they pop apart. Caution - do not use your wife's oven or any oven you care about, there will be permanent powder stuck to the inside. Load em up!

Thanks Trainwreck!

The powder is just "red" when searching for it? Nothing special to look for?

R,

MTV

[Trainwreck Paddy]

Red it is, it $6 something a pound. next time I'll go to the local powder coater and get some of his higher quality left overs.

[Moe T Vator]

42 minutes ago, Trainwreck Paddy said:

Red it is, it $6 something a pound. next time I'll go to the local powder coater and get some of his higher quality left overs.

I think ill stop by harbor freight and give them a try.

[G W Wade]

I use the LSS  stuff sold as 45/45/10 and tumble lube my 38's for SASS.   My bullets come out the right size, no sizing required.  After casting, I pour the amount I need on the bullets.   Roll the bucket across the floor for a couple of minutes. Deposit on a mesh screen to dry over night or till I come back to cast more the next day.    Use a Star sizer for everything else.      GW

[Cholla Bob]

4 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

Cast Boolits site also has a wealth of info on casting, alloys, accuracy, and is a great source for lead and other metals and equipment, too.

Absolutely if you are casting boolits you need to join this forum

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

I have been pan lubing all my bullets for many years with 50/50 mix of bees wax and crisco .

Works for Black Powder and smokeless Powder .

 

Basically you use a double boiler system .

I use a crock pot with about a half full of water .

Then I use a Metal Pan like a dog food bowl that sets on the top of the crock pot .

put in a 50/50 mix of Bees wax and Crisco .

Set your bullets in the pan and let cool .

Then it get easy after the first batch .

When its cooled off , Just pluck out the bullets and insert more in the same hole and Repeat.

 

Yes its slow but its a LONG Winter hear in Michigan .

And it helps kill some time .

I load all winter too shoot all I need for the summer .

 

Rooster   

[Michigan Slim]

I also cast for my daughter and I. Lee liquid Alox is as simple as it gets. I heat mine to get it very runny, tumble lube  then air dry. I can load them the next day. I had a lube/sizer but got tired of handling the bullets so many times. 

I probably cast 50,000 bullets a year and Alox is the way to go for me.

I don't size them but use a Lee Factory Crimp die in all our sets.

[G W Wade]

1 hour ago, Michigan Slim said:

I also cast for my daughter and I. Lee liquid Alox is as simple as it gets. I heat mine to get it very runny, tumble lube  then air dry. I can load them the next day. I had a lube/sizer but got tired of handling the bullets so many times. 

I probably cast 50,000 bullets a year and Alox is the way to go for me.

I don't size them but use a Lee Factory Crimp die in all our sets.

You should check into lss website that Garrison Joe shows.    Think you might like the 45/45/10        GW

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

I cast all the bullets my wife, 2 kids and I use. I use Star sizers with lube that I make myself. You REALLY need to go to www.castboolits.gunloads.com 

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

here is the Cast Boolits' subsection on Powder Coating (PC):  http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?184-Coatings-and-Alternatives

 

Smoke on that site has the best powder for PC.  HF is OK to "not so much"  http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?205-Smoke-4320-s-Corner  his is really a major step up.

 

There have been a number of us that got in on the ground floor of PC and did a lot of the trail and error.  Method is pretty straight forward now.  I look on it as an additional hobby along with casting and reloading cause it's fun.

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

I have two Lyman Lube-sizers,,, One Set-up with Lyman Moly Lube ,,, And the Other set-up with SPG , Lyman Gold or other Blackpowder Lube ....

I use the Moly for Smokeless longrange  loads and the other for everything else ....

 

Jabez Cowboy